Coimbatore

Bus mows down 6 Palani pilgrims at Dharapuram

Six pilgrims, including three women, were run over by a TNSTC bus at Dharapuram in Tirupur in the wee hours of Tuesday.

According to sources, the victims were on a padayatra to Palani from Tirupur. The six have been identified as Natarajan, Parameshwari, Vijaya, Kalimuthu, Shanthi and Rajamani.

The six – who began their yatra on Monday – were run over near Puthuvinayakar temple at Suryanallur in Dharapuram by the bus that was on its way to Madurai from Tirupur at 5.30 a.m.

While five died on the spot, Shanthi died while she was being rushed to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital. The bodies were later shifted to Dharapuram Government Hospital for post mortem. The driver of the bus, Thamizharasan, surrendered before the police, who have registered a case and are investigating.